


Clefairy Tail

by dragonshost



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Adventure, Friendship, Gen, Pokemon AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-23
Updated: 2017-10-30
Packaged: 2019-01-04 12:08:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,298
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12168597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragonshost/pseuds/dragonshost
Summary: In the world of Pokemon, Coco and Romeo are about to be launched into their very first adventure. It's going to be the best one of their lives.





	1. A Storm Is Coming

**_Hello there!_ **  
**_Welcome to the world of Pokémon._ **  
**_People here call me the Pokémon Professor._ **  
**_This world is inhabited by creatures called Pokémon._ **  
**_For some people, Pokémon are pets._ **  
**_Others use them for fights._ **  
**_Myself..._ **  
**_I study Pokémon as a profession._ **  
**_So, tell me._ **  
**_What is your name?_ **

* * *

"Romeo!" a familiar voice rang out from downstairs. "Romeo! Time to wake up!" There was a brief stillness, within which a young, dark haired boy flipped over in his bed - patterned with fire Pokémon from all over Kanto and Johto. He buried his face under his Charmander-shaped pillow, pretending to have not heard his name.

"Come on, Romeo!" the owner of the voice tried again. "You gotta get your chores done! Or do you  _not_  want to go to Pallet Town with me this afternoon?"

The boy bolted upright, eyes shooting open and all pretenses of sleep forgotten. "Coming, Dad!" he shouted, throwing his blankets off.

A raucous laugh echoed upstairs. "Yeah, that's what I thought!" Macao teased his son. "I was about to have Arcanine drag out of bed if you weren't up in a couple minutes!"

Romeo did not doubt that. It wouldn't be the first time he'd woken up to the large, fiery canine Pokémon slobbering in his face, determined to  _lick_  the sleep away. And if that didn't work, he really would take a gentle hold of the boy's pajamas with his fangs before yanking him out of slumber and his warm bed. Arcanine knew no mercy.

Scrambling off the mattress, Romeo quickly dug through his dresser. What was he going to wear?! This was the first time his dad was letting him tag along to the sleepy little town south of his home in Viridian City. He was going to meet the mysterious Professor for the first time! Although his father had worked for the man as long as they'd lived in the city, Romeo had yet to meet his father's employer. So he wanted to make a good impression... but whatever he chose might end up getting ruined on the long walk there.

Glancing out the window, Romeo thought he could make out dark clouds in the distance. He hoped it wouldn't rain on their journey. Nothing smelled worse than damp Arcanine.

"Romeo!" his father called again. "What, did your bed eat you or something? I have breakfast! Let's go, let's go!"

"Yeah, I'm coming!" he shouted back. Giving up, he through on his set of chores clothes. It wasn't like he couldn't come back and get changed before they headed out. Romeo started heading towards his bedroom door, but paused upon spotting his Charmander pillow on the floor where he'd accidentally tossed it in his rush to get up. He sighed, and walked over to it. Picking it up, he placed it at the head of his bed, sitting upright. Romeo smiled at it, before turning and leaving his room.

Once he had made it downstairs, Romeo greeted, "Good Morning, Dad." A soft  _whumph_  emanated from the direction of the dining table, and Romeo grinned at the sight of fluffy fur sticking out in all directions from beneath the piece of furniture - doing nothing to hide the Legendary Pokémon. "Good Morning to you too, Arcanine!"

A large, furry tail thumped happily on the other side of the table.

"Morning!" Macao returned, poking his head around the corner. "About time you joined us!" He gestured towards the table. "Sit down already; we all have a long day ahead of us."

"Sure thing, Dad." Romeo pulled out a chair and sat down. As he did so, a bark came from beneath the table. He leaned over in his seat, staring into the bright eyes of his father's trusted partner Pokémon. Arcanine had been with his father even longer than they'd lived in Viridian, before Romeo himself had been born, and even before Macao had met Romeo's mother (who was now happily divorced from her husband). If Macao's tall tales were to be believed, he and Arcanine had once traveled far and wide across Kanto with his old friend Wakaba and his partner, Wheezing. Until they met their respective wives and settled down.

Arcanine let out another  _whumph_.

Recognizing the plea for attention, Romeo reached under the table to ruffle the Pokémon's fluffy head. His fur was incredibly soft, and Romeo had spent many a rainy afternoon snuggled into Arcanine's fur. Romeo loved Arcanine with all of his heart and soul. The Pokémon was as permanent a part of his life as his father was, and just as precious and irreplaceable.

"I hope you plan to wash your hands before eating," came the wry tone of his father.

Romeo yelped in surprise, and tried to sit up. Bashing his head into the underside of the table, he yelped again, this time with Arcanine singing in accompaniment. He winced and withdrew, rubbing the back of his skull.

Macao's eyes twinkled merrily at his son. "Well, I can't say that I don't understand the urge to pet him." To prove his point, he reached under the table to scratch Arcanine's back, the Pokémon letting out pleased noises. All attention was good attention, as far as Arcanine was concerned. "That being said, don't let him fool you. He's already had  _his_  breakfast. He doesn't need ours, too."

From beneath the table, Arcanine let out a heavy sigh.

Romeo let out a laugh. "Got it!"

Arcanine let out a second, heart-heavy sigh, which only made the humans laugh more.

The table was already set with very simple breakfast fare. It all looked delicious, though. Trying to pull his seat closer to the table, he found himself unable to, blocked by Pokémon fluff.

"Hey, Arcanine!" Macao grouched at his old friend. "Are you gonna move anytime soon?"

 _Thump, thump_ , went the Pokémon's tail.

"I guess we're just gonna have to eat hunched over. Or move to the couch."

* * *

In the end, they stayed at the table. Every once in a while, Arcanine attempted to cajole one of the pair into giving him a portion of their meal, but they were long since wise to the Pokémon's wiles.

As Romeo began to clean up the dishes, the phone hanging on the wall began to ring. The boy glanced up, but his father waved him off. "I'll get it. You keep cleaning the dishes." Shrugging, Romeo rinsed the plates and set a couple of dishes to soak. From beneath the table, Arcanine was radiating waves of betrayal since Romeo had not given the plates over to  _him_  first for a quick tongue scrubbing.

"Conbolt residence," Macao said into the receiver. "Oh, hello. Yeah, I saw that, and I was worried if... No, no it's no problem."

Romeo couldn't help but wonder who his father was talking to. Not for the first time, he wished they could afford one of those phones that had video screens as well.

Macao nodded as if the other party  _could_  see him, anyway. "I got it! I'll pass it along. This really sucks though; he was looking forward to meeting you today. Well, take care, and we'll see you tomorrow, weather permitting." He hung the phone back on its wall mount, hand resting there for a long moment. Then Macao turned to face his son with a sheepish look on his face. "Hey... Romeo... I know you were all excited to see the Professor and his lab this afternoon, but..."

The youth's heart abruptly dropped.

"But I'm afraid that there's a big storm rolling it. Since it's gonna be such a nasty one, we'll have to wait it out before we make the journey to Pallet town. Or at least, you'll have to wait."

Setting down the plate he was washing, Romeo stared up at his father with hurt shining in his eyes. "Dad! You promised!"

His hands held up in surrender, Macao nodded. "I understand, and you're right, I did. But it'll be too dangerous out there."

Romeo dried off his hands with a dish towel. "Not too dangerous for you! You'll still be working, right?"

With a helpless shrug, Macao explained, "I'm a Ranger, kiddo. It's my job to get people and Pokémon to safety when stuff like this storm rolling in happens. Besides which, I'll have Arcanine and Wakaba and Wheezing watching my back out there. You don't have a partner Pokémon yet, son. So I can't let you come along. I'm sorry, but that's just how it is."

"Because I don't have a partner Pokémon?!" Romeo snapped. "You're the one who wanted me to wait, instead of getting one when I turned ten! I'm thirteen now, Dad! Most of my friends have already gone off to have adventures with their Pokémon! And yet, I'm still stuck here!"

Macao sighed. "Well... your mother..."

"Lives all the way in Cerulean City, remember?" Romeo pointed out. "She doesn't have a say in this. I'm technically an adult now. Big Sis Lucy is gone, Big Sis Wendy moved to Johto, and Big Bro Natsu left a long time ago, too."

It was clear that Macao was having trouble reining in his temper over his son's words. There was a pulsing vein on his forehead, and the cords of his neck were tightened. "Romeo... Lucy was seventeen before she left, and Natsu was eighteen. Not to mention that that was seven years ago, son. The world's a different place."

"How would I know that, if I've never gotten to see it?" Romeo wanted to know.

"You're just going to have to take my word on it."

Romeo made a loud, frustrated sound in the back of his throat.

Resisting to roll his eyes at Romeo's temper tantrum, Macao stated, "The Professor won't be in Pallet town anyway. With a storm like this, he's going to be out in the thick of it, observing Pokémon. So there'd be no point in us stopping by his lab in the first place."

The dark haired boy threw his towel onto the counter. "Whatever, Dad. I'm going to the store - we're out of milk and eggs, right?"

Macao warily watched his son stalk towards the door, suspicious of the teenager's actions. "And toilet paper. Be sure to be back before the heavy rain sets in, alright?" Thunder rolled in the distance. Those clouds were definitely moving in. And fast. "Which looks to be fairly soon."

"I got it, I got it."

With that, Romeo walked out the door, and stalked off in the direction of the general store.

Sighing, Macao glanced at Arcanine. "He's growing up too fast, old pal," he confided in his partner. "Before I know it, he's going to be ready to take on this world without me. I don't think I'm ready for that."

Arcanine huffed quietly in agreement, thumping his tail once, twice, and then falling still.


	2. Skitty Pursuit

Frustration and disappointment clawed at Romeo’s gut, as he trudged down through the city.  He didn’t understand his father at all.  The world was a relatively safe place, so long as one had a partner Pokémon at their side.  He was hard pressed to think of anyone he knew that _didn’t_ have a companion.  In fact, he knew people with _too many_.

Like the Skitty lady a few blocks over.  When he was a little younger, Macao had taken Romeo to see her.  Just like today, Romeo had gotten his hopes up over the opportunity, and just like today they had been crushed just as thoroughly.  Not by Macao, though, he had to admit.  Arcanine had a thing for chasing the very fast, small pink Skitty, it turned out.  All parties involved had decided that it was probably for the best for Romeo not to see if a Skitty took a liking to him.

But still.  Romeo couldn’t help but feel that he was missing out on one of the most important bonds in the world.  He envied his father, why couldn’t Macao see that?  Though he had his own bond with Arcanine, Romeo wanted what Macao had with him, what Wheezing and Wakaba had.

What Natsu, Wendy, and Lucy had had with their Pokémon.

The thought stopped him in his tracks.

Loneliness supplanted the frustration in a tidal wave of emotion that left it hard to breathe.  Romeo missed them.  So much.  They’d been older, stronger, amazing.  They’d made time for him, despite his being a little kid.  Seven years had passed since he last saw them, and in his memories, they were smiling as they waved goodbye.

Romeo had heard nothing else from them in all that time.

He needed to get his own Pokémon soon.  Go out into the same world that they had.  Romeo desperately wanted to see all of the things that they must have on their journeys.  To feel close to them as he had years before.  If he by some whim of fate managed to see them again, to run into them along the way, all the better.

Thunder rumbled, far closer than it had been earlier that morning.

Wiping his eyes furiously with his arm, Romeo sniffed and then continued making his way to the store.  He would need to hurry in order to get back before the rain hit.

It wasn’t long before the building came into view up ahead.  Relief breaking across his face, Romeo’s pace increased with the goal line in sight.  He was just about to pull open the door and enter, when he saw a flash of pink in his peripheral vision.  Romeo did a double take, peering into the brush that lined the street.

Another flash of pink – further away from the store.

 _‘Did one of the Skitty escape?’_ Romeo wondered, hand still poised over the door pull.  The wind picked up, blowing hard into Romeo’s side.  In this weather, it could be bad if the Skitty was lost.  Wild Pokémon could become more aggressive in storms, he’d read in one of Macao’s Pokémon Ranger journals.  They would become more territorial, largely due to fear and stress.

The brush rustled, even further away from where Romeo stood.  It was definitely heading in the opposite direction of the Skitty lady’s home.  Towards the other end of town… and the open routes.

A glance at the dark clouds looming ever closer decided the issue for Romeo.  He turned away from the store, and headed the same direction he thought the Skitty was going.

Romeo had always loved the greenery of Viridian City.  He didn’t remember much of Saffron, where he’d been born, but he did remember it being very… urban.  And although Viridian catered to a large number and a great variety of Pokémon trainers – newbies, Gym challengers, and Pokémon League challengers alike – it still managed to feel very in tune with the forest at its border and the grassy plains to the south, with shrubbery lining the streets and a large number of trees and even the small pond near the entrance to Route 1 and Route 22.

The boy had never once considered that he would now be cursing that same greenery as he attempted to chase a pink kitten through it.  He would have assumed that something that brightly colored would be easy to spot, but apparently not so much.  It was a fast little bugger, and Romeo was beginning to suspect that it was onto him, and actively avoiding him as it dashed down side streets almost too narrow even for Romeo’s slight form.  Hewing himself to the side of the wall, he scooted past some trash cans and then climbed over a small wall with an even smaller hole in the bottom that the Pokémon had just slipped right on through.

He hoped that the Skitty lady appreciated all he was going through for her Skitty when this was all over, because the Pokémon was proving to be a worthy adversary.  This was one serious bid for freedom.

So absorbed in the chase, Romeo wasn’t paying as close of attention to his surroundings as he should have.  He stumbled over a hedge bush at the end of the alley, letting out a squawk as he lost his balance and flailed his arms.

And proceeded to careen straight into someone.

Shrieking, they both hit the ground.

“Watch where you’re going,” the girl he took down groaned.

Romeo scrambled to his feet, having seen telltale pink down the street.  “Sorry!” he called, taking off after it without so much as a glance at the person he’d collided with.  He was on a mission and would not be deterred.

It wasn’t long before he heard the furious thudding of feet behind him.  Risking a glance, he almost jumped out of his skin at the sight of a teenage girl barreling towards him.

“That’s all you have to say, you jerk?!” she shouted, gaining rapidly on Romeo.

Screaming at the terrifying sight, Romeo pumped his legs faster.  “I already said I’m sorry!”

“Not gonna cut it!”

No longer sure if he was still chasing the Skitty, or just running away, Romeo flew down the street as swiftly as his feet could carry him.

She caught up near the Pokémon Gym, catching him in a flying tackle and sending them both to the ground once more.

All the air evacuated Romeo’s lungs.  He laid on the ground, wheezing and gasping for breath.

“You should pay more attention to where you’re going!” the crazy girl lectured.

“So you… felt… the need… to hunt me… down?!” Romeo sputtered, unbelieving.  “What is wrong with you?”

“What’s wrong with _you?_ ” she questioned.  “What did I ever do to you, huh?”  After a moment’s pause, she added, “Other than what I just did, I mean.”

“Then we’ll… call it even.”  Romeo cast about, searching for the Skitty.

The girl watched him for a minute as his head swiveled around, oscillating like a fan.  “What are you doing?” she asked, her tone guarded.

“A Skitty got out,” Romeo explained.  “I was trying to catch it to return it to the owner.”

Understanding dawned on her face.  “Oh!  Oh.  That’s… that’s pretty important.  Mind if I help?”  When he stared at her, incredulous that she was offering _now_ , she merely shrugged.  “I have a problem with _you_ , not the Skitty.  Name’s Coco, by the way.”

With a sigh, Romeo nodded.  “Yeah, I could use the help anyway.  It’s been running circles around me for a while now.  I’m Romeo.”  He finally took a good look at her, and noticed that although small, the brunette girl was probably a little older than him.  “I think I saw it head towards the bushes around the Gym.”

Coco nodded, joining him in his search along the building’s greenery.  The steadily darkening sky, and the lightless windows of the closed Gym made searching difficult, and Romeo began to wonder if he’d seen correctly, or if they should give up before the storm hit.  He doubted that Coco wanted to be caught out in the rain any more than he did, and they’d done what they could for the errant Pokémon.

After a few minutes, Coco let out a shout.  “Gotcha!”  Followed shortly by the sound of her tackling something bodily.  Was that her signature move, or something?

When he arrived, Coco already had a squirming mass of Pokémon in her arms.

They both stared at the Pokémon in her grasp, waving its small pink arms and trembling.

“This isn’t a Skitty,” Coco observed, dumbfounded.

“And this isn’t a schoolyard, children,” a voice behind them stated, as menacing as the approaching storm.

Twisting, the pair looked up and into the eyes of two men wearing dark uniforms with an R emblazoned in red across the chest glaring down at them.

“Playtime’s over, kids.  Hand over that Pokémon, or it’s lights out.”


End file.
